1328                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 631

THE ACT WHICH CAN BE GIVEN EFFECT WITHOUT THE
INVALID PROVISIONS OR APPLICATION, AND TO THIS END
ALL THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT ARE DECLARED TO
BE SEVERABLE.

Sec. 2. 4. And be it further enacted, That this Act shall take
effect July 1, 1971.

Approved May 24, 1971.

CHAPTER 631
(Senate Bill 9)

AN ACT to repeal Section 45 of Article 59 of the Annotated Code of
Maryland (1968 Replacement Volume and 1970 Supplement), title
Mental Hygiene," subtitle "Financing of Mental Health Services,"
and to enact new Section 45 in lieu thereof, to stand in the place of
the section so repealed, to repeal the requirement that the counties
of the State pay a specific sum annually to the State for the care of
patients in State mental health facilities, to repeal related pro-
visions providing for the handling and disposition and crediting to
local accounts of monies recovered for the cost of patient care, and
to restate the responsibility of the State, the patient and others for
payment of the cost of care of patients in mental health facilities.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Section 45 of Article 59 of the Annotated Code of Maryland
(1968 Replacement Volume and 1970 Supplement), title "Mental Hy-
giene," subtitle "Financing of Mental Health Services," be and it is
hereby repealed, and that new Section 45 be and it is hereby enacted
in lieu thereof, to stand in the place of the section so repealed, and to
read as follows:

45.

[(a) Each county shall pay the sum of $125.00 annually for the
care of each patient in any public facility, who, immediately prior to
his admission, was a resident of that county. The remainder of the
patient's cost of care shall be the responsibility of the State. The
expense charged to each county under this subsection shall be credited
with payments received from each such patient, or others on his
behalf.

(b)    When funds are received from, or on behalf of, a patient,
they shall be credited first to that portion of the patient's cost of care
paid by his county of residence during the fiscal year in which the
payment is received. They shall next be credited to the general funds
of the State, until credit to the State equals that portion of the
patient's cost of care paid by the State. In like manner, payments
received shall be credited first to the county, then to the State, for
the years preceding the current fiscal year, starting with the year
immediately preceding the current fiscal year.

(c)    The Department shall periodically furnish to the governing
body of each county, a statement listing the names of each patient